Robinson Theater Community Arts Center

The Robinson Theater Community Arts Center is a multi-purpose facility located on 2903 Q Street in the Church Hill North district of Richmond, Virginia. It was built in 1937 in the Art Deco Moderne style, and its construction was the final icon of the transformation of the neighborhood into a middle-class African-American district. It was named for Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, a famous and popular tap dancer, and it served as a social institution for the neighborhood. The theater was later re-purposed as a disco, bar, restaurant, pool hall, and nightclub before closing in the mid-1980s, and the theater and other neighborhood landmarks fell into disrepair as crime rates rose in Church Hill. In 2008, the theater underwent another renovation, and it became a popular community center.